Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
The verse states the old rule of measured payback, spoken to an oppressed people longing to crush the Romans who forced them to carry burdens and drove them up the steep bank by the sea. It stands in Christ's unfolding of the law in the Sermon on the Mount, correcting how religious teachers had distorted its requirements and misrepresented God, and setting forth the principles of His kingdom of grace rather than earthly power. He answers that rule with the command not to pay back injury with hatred, revenge, or defiance, but to turn the other cheek when struck, yield cloak as well as coat when sued, go two miles when compelled to go one, and keep giving and lending without turning away. Cherishing desire to avenge personal wrongs is forbidden as reflecting Satan's character and training the heart for evil, though indignation at God's dishonor or oppression of the innocent can be righteous; Christ Himself met insult and persecution without retaliation, calling His followers to meet wrong with patience, kindness, mercy, and prayer to win wrongdoers from evil. This is definite instruction for conduct to be learned, obeyed, and written on the soul, forming Christlike character, unity, and love that impresses more deeply than preaching, while choosing one's own way and refusing to love God wholly and neighbor justly proves the lesson unlearned and calls for cleansing of the soul temple.
Setting and Wording
The saying introduces the rule of measured retaliation, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It was spoken under Roman oppression, when soldiers forced Jewish peasants to carry their burdens. At the time Roman soldiers encamped by the sea-shore were compelling them up the steep bank, stirring indignation. The Jews longed for power to crush their oppressors. Jesus spoke with sadness over the sins that had brought them into bondage.
The opening formula marks the continually repeated sayings of the rabbinical schools and teachers of the day. Those repeated “they say” and “it hath been said” are the unstable words of men, not exalted wisdom to be accepted. They must not replace the truth of Scripture. They corrupt and shape the mind when accepted without searching Scripture and learning from Christ and God’s Word for oneself.
The saying belongs to Christ’s explanation of the law in the Sermon on the Mount, revealing its full and far-reaching claims. It corrects the distorted way its requirements had been presented by religious teachers and restores them to their proper light. It challenges the doctrines, practices, and human traditions of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees presented as God’s commands. It corrects their misrepresentation of God to reveal His character.
As part of that explanation, it sets out principles governing His kingdom of divine grace rather than the earthly power and glory the crowd expected. The law condemns every evil action and demands perfect obedience as shown in His sinless life. It requires the spirit of the law in the heart because the state of the heart regulates life and character. This is a lesson new converts must learn or instruction in the law will fail.
Nonretaliation Instead of Revenge
Jesus answers the old rule of measured retaliation with the command not to retaliate, teaching that evil is not to be resisted with retaliatory action. Injury and oppression are not to be answered with hatred, revenge, violent language, or defiance, even when the longing is for power to crush oppressors. When smitten the other cheek is to be turned, when sued the cloak is to be yielded as well as the coat, when compelled to go one mile two are to be gone, and giving to him that asks and lending without turning away are to continue. Injury is not to be answered with revenge, and persecution is to be met without a spirit of retaliation and defiance.
The verse forbids cultivating retaliation or cherishing a desire to avenge personal wrongs. Hatred of oppressors and harsh denunciations showed how a spirit of revenge reflected Satan's character and trained people for evil. The prohibition does not condemn every form of anger, for indignation at God's dishonor or the oppression of the innocent can be righteous. Anger or resentment indulged over a supposed personal provocation is sinful, and bitterness and animosity must be removed from the heart to be in harmony with heaven.
Jesus' own refusal to retaliate against persecution, insult, and mistreatment demonstrates the lesson in practice. His followers should meet those who wrong them with patience, generosity, kindness, and mercy rather than hatred, seeking to win them from evil. They are to pray for those who treat them badly instead of answering with retaliatory action. Refusing retaliation does not mean acting presumptuously or needlessly closing opportunities to share the truth, but remaining meek and nonretaliatory while seeking ways to continue the work.
Learning and Living Instruction
The verse stands within precious instruction in the fifth chapter of Matthew that lays out in figures the plans to be studied and acted upon. It gives a clear, definite expression of Christ's will for conduct, showing how God's will should shape conduct, and it is to be learned and obeyed by His disciples. It is to be read and written upon the tablets of the soul and dwelt upon often, so that divine virtues are constantly brought into life.
Taken into life under the molding influence of the Spirit, the teaching forms Christlike character to reveal the likeness of the divine Lord. It promotes unity, love, and Christian fellowship among those who follow it. Doing that will reveals true doctrine to those who will to do the will of God, holds the standard high without spot or wrinkle, and represents Christ as altogether lovely in words, attitude, and actions. Shown in daily life, and applied to business life in right and holy methods, it can make a deeper and more lasting impression than preaching.
That holy standard requires love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor as God requires, without mingling human wisdom with the divine and without unjustly acquiring means at the expense of another. Choosing one's own way instead of His instruction brings condemnation, and failure to live by that standard proves the holy law and its explanation on the Mount have not been learned. Such failure exposes the low grade, backsliding, and existing evils of the church and calls for a cleansing and purging of the soul temple.
The instruction corrects misapprehension that produces conscious or unconscious unkindness. It breaks up words in the church that tend to separate friends. This is needful because unkindness provokes retaliation and spreads strife, and strife propagates itself.
The verse states the old rule of measured payback, spoken to an oppressed people longing to crush the Romans who forced them to carry burdens and drove them up the steep bank by the sea. It stands in Christ's unfolding of the law in the Sermon on the Mount, correcting how religious teachers had distorted its requirements and misrepresented God, and setting forth the principles of His kingdom of grace rather than earthly power. He answers that rule with the command not to pay back injury with hatred, revenge, or defiance, but to turn the other cheek when struck, yield cloak as well as coat when sued, go two miles when compelled to go one, and keep giving and lending without turning away. Cherishing desire to avenge personal wrongs is forbidden as reflecting Satan's character and training the heart for evil, though indignation at God's dishonor or oppression of the innocent can be righteous; Christ Himself met insult and persecution without retaliation, calling His followers to meet wrong with patience, kindness, mercy, and prayer to win wrongdoers from evil. This is definite instruction for conduct to be learned, obeyed, and written on the soul, forming Christlike character, unity, and love that impresses more deeply than preaching, while choosing one's own way and refusing to love God wholly and neighbor justly proves the lesson unlearned and calls for cleansing of the soul temple.
Setting and Wording
The saying introduces the rule of measured retaliation, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It was spoken under Roman oppression, when soldiers forced Jewish peasants to carry their burdens. At the time Roman soldiers encamped by the sea-shore were compelling them up the steep bank, stirring indignation. The Jews longed for power to crush their oppressors. Jesus spoke with sadness over the sins that had brought them into bondage.
The opening formula marks the continually repeated sayings of the rabbinical schools and teachers of the day. Those repeated “they say” and “it hath been said” are the unstable words of men, not exalted wisdom to be accepted. They must not replace the truth of Scripture. They corrupt and shape the mind when accepted without searching Scripture and learning from Christ and God’s Word for oneself.
The saying belongs to Christ’s explanation of the law in the Sermon on the Mount, revealing its full and far-reaching claims. It corrects the distorted way its requirements had been presented by religious teachers and restores them to their proper light. It challenges the doctrines, practices, and human traditions of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees presented as God’s commands. It corrects their misrepresentation of God to reveal His character.
As part of that explanation, it sets out principles governing His kingdom of divine grace rather than the earthly power and glory the crowd expected. The law condemns every evil action and demands perfect obedience as shown in His sinless life. It requires the spirit of the law in the heart because the state of the heart regulates life and character. This is a lesson new converts must learn or instruction in the law will fail.
Nonretaliation Instead of Revenge
Jesus answers the old rule of measured retaliation with the command not to retaliate, teaching that evil is not to be resisted with retaliatory action. Injury and oppression are not to be answered with hatred, revenge, violent language, or defiance, even when the longing is for power to crush oppressors. When smitten the other cheek is to be turned, when sued the cloak is to be yielded as well as the coat, when compelled to go one mile two are to be gone, and giving to him that asks and lending without turning away are to continue. Injury is not to be answered with revenge, and persecution is to be met without a spirit of retaliation and defiance.
The verse forbids cultivating retaliation or cherishing a desire to avenge personal wrongs. Hatred of oppressors and harsh denunciations showed how a spirit of revenge reflected Satan's character and trained people for evil. The prohibition does not condemn every form of anger, for indignation at God's dishonor or the oppression of the innocent can be righteous. Anger or resentment indulged over a supposed personal provocation is sinful, and bitterness and animosity must be removed from the heart to be in harmony with heaven.
Jesus' own refusal to retaliate against persecution, insult, and mistreatment demonstrates the lesson in practice. His followers should meet those who wrong them with patience, generosity, kindness, and mercy rather than hatred, seeking to win them from evil. They are to pray for those who treat them badly instead of answering with retaliatory action. Refusing retaliation does not mean acting presumptuously or needlessly closing opportunities to share the truth, but remaining meek and nonretaliatory while seeking ways to continue the work.
Learning and Living Instruction
The verse stands within precious instruction in the fifth chapter of Matthew that lays out in figures the plans to be studied and acted upon. It gives a clear, definite expression of Christ's will for conduct, showing how God's will should shape conduct, and it is to be learned and obeyed by His disciples. It is to be read and written upon the tablets of the soul and dwelt upon often, so that divine virtues are constantly brought into life.
Taken into life under the molding influence of the Spirit, the teaching forms Christlike character to reveal the likeness of the divine Lord. It promotes unity, love, and Christian fellowship among those who follow it. Doing that will reveals true doctrine to those who will to do the will of God, holds the standard high without spot or wrinkle, and represents Christ as altogether lovely in words, attitude, and actions. Shown in daily life, and applied to business life in right and holy methods, it can make a deeper and more lasting impression than preaching.
That holy standard requires love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor as God requires, without mingling human wisdom with the divine and without unjustly acquiring means at the expense of another. Choosing one's own way instead of His instruction brings condemnation, and failure to live by that standard proves the holy law and its explanation on the Mount have not been learned. Such failure exposes the low grade, backsliding, and existing evils of the church and calls for a cleansing and purging of the soul temple.
The instruction corrects misapprehension that produces conscious or unconscious unkindness. It breaks up words in the church that tend to separate friends. This is needful because unkindness provokes retaliation and spreads strife, and strife propagates itself.